Common Safety Issues Related to Food Purchase, Storage, and Preparation

In the case of the Salmonella gastroenteritis outbreak after a reception, the origin of the illness comes down to the potato salad served at this event, however, the investigators are not certain of the mechanism of contamination. Whether the service worker (infected) might have unknowingly contaminated the food item or whether the food service worker also was infected through the same source as the case-patients remains unclear.2 Because the mechanism is unclear, it’s hard to identify if any of the ingredients in the potato salad were the culprit. In many cases, however, investigators are able to identify the mechanism for contamination.

Opposing view point online collection in the article “Food Safety” explains that food safety is an issue that very few people think about until they become sick. Opposing viewpoints online collection supports their explanation by giving statistics on the amount of people that get sick each year along with the different types of foodborne illnesses there are. The author’s purpose is to show the dangers of foodborne illnesses by estimating that “40 million people experience foodborne diseases every year. In order to eliminate foodborne illnesses they must set a certain food standard. The author establishes a formal tone for the reader. This work is significant because it informs the readers what we need to do for solve the food safety issues

Foodborne illness, or food poisoning, happens everyday in the U.S. and it is estimated that 48 million people are affected by it every year. Of these 48 million, 128,000 end up in the hospital and 3000 of them die from foodborne pathogens (Tucker, 2014). Foodborne illnesses can be caused by biological, chemical, or physical contaminants. The biological contaminants consist of bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Chemical contaminants are pesticides, cleaning supplies, and toxic chemicals. Physical contaminations are dirt, glass, wood, splinters, stones, hair, jewelry, and metal shavings (Tucker, 2014). Salmonella, a bacterium, has been the most common reported cause of food poisoning. Salmonella is most commonly exposed to humans through animal feces and it is usually from animals that give us beef, poultry, and dairy products. People who do not wash their hands after being around animals can also transmit salmonella into our food. The symptoms of Salmonella are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever (Tucker, 2014). The symptoms will usually resolve on their own in healthy people but may become life threatening in those with compromised immune systems. In order to prevent Salmonellosis, raw eggs should be avoided, as well as undercooked meat, shellfish, and unpasteurized milk and juice (Tucker, 2014). It is also important to always practice hand hygiene before handling any uncooked food products. Escherichia Coli, otherwise known as E. coli, is

Many people are affected each year by what is usually misdiagnosed as the “stomach flu”. The official medical term for this illness is Norovirus, but is also known as Norwalk Virus. It was first seen in 1968 at Bronson Elementary School in Norwalk, Ohio. The first outbreak occurred at the elementary school, infecting 116 of the 223 students and teachers. Norovirus is a contagious virus that can lead to an infection called acute gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines, which results in diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. In the United States alone, 19-21 million cases, 56,000-71,000 hospitalizations, and 570-800 deaths are reported each year (CDC).

Noroviruses are the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans, and affect people of all ages. Norovirus infection is characterised by nausea, forceful vomiting, watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and in some cases, loss of taste. General lethargy, weakness, muscle aches, headache, and low-grade fever may occur. The disease is usually self-limiting,

Norovirus is a highly contagious virus and being infected with one type of norovirus does not protect against infection from other types. The virus is usually spread by the fecal-oral route through contaminated food or water or person-to-person contact. It may also spread via contaminated surfaces

The main public health problem that is discussed in my case is the decline of state funding for food safety. Although it is mentioned that budget cuts are occurring in other state health departments in the United States as well, the population that this case has specifically discussed is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Realmuto & Sutaria, 2011). The Louisiana Health Department experienced an influx of budget cuts, where the Environmental Health Department had faced 20% of reductions (Realmuto & Sutaria, 2011). The Louisiana Food Safety Program inherited the most reductions in funds. According to the CDC, 48 million food borne illnesses occurs in the U.S. yearly, 128,000 are hospitalized, while 3,000 die from food borne illness (CDC, 2014). State and local health departments hold a vital role in food safety inspections that are used to prevent food borne illness out breaks. These

Gastrointestinal diseases are pervasive problem that is caused by ingestion of contaminated foods or water in which an extensive etiological agents known as enteric pathogen are present, [1]. Salmonella is one of the most opportunistic gram negative, facultative anaerobic food borne pathogens that represent a major health problem and a substantial cause of food poisoning[2]. Salmonellosis caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) stance as the second most prevalent cause of acute gastroenteritis that affecting one million illnesses in the United States, with 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths[3]. Infection begins with the ingestion of contaminated food or water then characterized by attachment of the bacteria by fimbriae or pili to cells lining the

2. Acidity: pathogens grow best in food with little or no acid (pH between 4.6-7.5)

virus is a highly contagious virus causing inflammation to the wall of the column and stomach in the gastrointestinal tract. It is also known as acute gastroenteritis [1]. Norovirus is easily transmitted from person to person through simple exposures to the disease. These exposures are through a contaminated environment or contact with contaminated substances such as vomit, faecal, saliva, mucus and other bodily fluids. The virus is most easily spreadable through interacting in small areas where bodily fluids and aerosolized substances are most likely to be shared [2]. Sunrise Nursing Home has two elderly female residents showing symptoms of Norovirus. Mrs. Annabelle Mason is a 96 year old recently having abdominal pain and 3 episodes of diarrhea. Mrs. Mary Biggs also feels unwell and has abdominal pain.

Every year millions of people of all ages suffer from food poising due to something they ate was wrong. Sufferers experience a series of vomiting associated with diarrhoea. It is very hard to determine the cause of such attacks because eaten food doses not remains; only when many people fall ill by eating the same food can possibly say that the food was source of the outbreak. Food posing is defined as an illness caused by various bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses or chemicals. When food or water is in contact with these pathogens it becomes poisoned. The diseases that are caused by these organisms arise as a result of two possible ways ,they might be very infections in which, they access to the human body and multiplies in it or they

Salmonellosis is a disease caused by the bacteria salmonella. Characterised usually by acute onset of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and sometimes vomiting. Onset of disease symptoms occurs 6 - 72 hours (usually 12-36 hours) after ingestion of salmonella, and illness lasts 2-7 days. Symptoms of salmonellosis are relatively mild and patients will make a recovery without specific treatment in most cases (WHO). Salmonella being a foodborne illness pathogen causes severe debilitating infections including meningitis.

With all this talk of grilling outdoors, picnics in parks, road trips and other reasons for food to be served in less-than-sterile conditions, we’d be remiss not to at least briefly mention food poisoning. If you’ve ever had it, and you probably have once in your life, your skin just crawled. Sorry.

An outbreak of infection or foodborne illness may be defined either as two or more linked cases of the same illness, or as the situation when the observed number of cases unaccountably exceeds the expected number (Food standard Agency, 2006). However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines it as, any disease of an infectious or toxic nature caused by or thought to be caused by the consumption of food or water Norovirus is the most common known cause of infectious intestinal disease in Western Europe and North America [1–3] and one of the leading causes of foodborne outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis [4–9]. It has been estimated that there are over 600,000 cases of norovirus infection in England each year [10], with infection rates peaking during the winter months that lend the disease the initial description “winter vomiting disease” (Mounts et al., 2000 EFSA).

Common illnesses that can occur are salmonella and trichinosis poisoning resulting from improper handling of chicken, eggs or pork (Jardin, 2009, para.2). Diseases such as: campylobacteriosis, cholera, and listeriosis also make the list of illnesses (Jardin, 2009, para.1). These diseases are the versions of food poisoning, which can be life-threatening. According to the World of Health article published in 2007,